Ratchet lever



July 26, 1932 N. F. McNAuGH-r ET Al. 1,868,839

RATCHET LEVER Filed July 3. 1930 F @agit/gig? @f ffm, M7 @fu/(5M, i 42295.

(ffm/72275:

Patented `luly 26, 1932 Unirse srares `Param lorner.

NORRIS F. MCNAUGHT ANI) ED'WARD H. PETERSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS` n TO DURO METAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION F 'Y ILLINOIS v RATCHET LEVER `Appleman mea July 8, 1930. yserial No. 465,634.

The present invention relates to ratchet levers, and is particularly concerned with ratchet levers adapted to be used as wrenches.

One of the objects of the present invention f5. is the provision of an improved ratchet lever of particularly simple and economical construction, `which is capable of manufacture in large volume at a low cost. l

Another object is the provision of an improved ratchet lever having an l improved form of supporting body capable of being constructed of ordinary stock materials with a minimum of machining operations, and having an improved form of pawl which may be constructed of highv grade materials, with a minimum expenditure of time and labor.

Another object is the provision of an improved ratchet lever which is sturdy, simple, economical, has a minimum of moving parts, and which is capable of withstanding a greater amount of hard usage and abuse than the devices of the prior art.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved ratchet lever, all parts of which may be made of the best materials such as tool steel, with a minimum amount of machine operations, thereby providing. a ratchet lever of high quality at a cost which is within the reach of a vast number of purchasers. f Another object is the provision of an improved double acting ratchet lever, that is, a ratchet lever capable of having its mechanism reversed at will by the operator, for

in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the single sheet of drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the ratchet leverwith one of the cover plates partially broken away to show the internal mechanism in one position; n

Figure 2 is a side elevational view in parright-hand or lefthand rotation without. the l necessity for removing the wrench from the.

scription and from the accompanying draw-y tial section on the Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary `view similar to Figure 1 with the pawl in the other ratchet plane of the line 2 2 of et member 12 and a pawl 13.k The. rotatableratchet member `12 may consist of any form of wrenclnmcluding members having projecting Wrench formations as distinguished Y from the vsocketetype kof wrench formation illustrated, and the present embodiment consists of a round metallic member having a plurality of teeth 14 located on `its periphery, and having a non-circular socket 15 axial-V ly located in its body. It should be under.y

stood that while the socket r`15 is shown asL a square socket, any form of wrench socket such as hexagonal orother forms may also be employed.

The teeth of different forms, but are preferably pro 14 may take any of a number vided with side surfaces `16, 17 of substan-` i tially the same sloper so as to make the ksame n ratchet member adaptable for use in constructin g ratchet levers of a number of different types, to adaptL the ratchet member for use with a double acting pawl, andy to eliminate any necessity for particulary attention inassemblingthe ratchetlever with the pawl to assurethe arrangement of the teeth in the proper direction. The present type of ratchetmember may be inserted into its socket with either si de forming the top,`

sincethe teeth are symmetrically shaped. The ratchet member 12 is preferably formed with relatively flat surfaces 18 at*y each end, forming thrust bearings for the ratchet member for engaging parts of the 'body 11, and the ratchet member 12 1sV also preferably formed with cylindrical partsf19 at each end Aforming journals or trunnions for rotatably supporting the ratchet member in bearings 2O consisting of apertures in t) En theA cover plat-es 21, 22. The ratchet member 12 is also preferably provided with a dished outer surface 23 leading from the outer edge 21 of the ratchet member to the socket 15 for more readily guiding a complementary non-circular part into the socket 15.

The body 11 may be formed of a bar of stock material of any shape, but it is preferably provided With a` handle or grip formed with a relatively thin web 26 which joins a pair of bordering` transverse flanges 27, 28. The web 2li may have an aperture 29 for use in hanging up the ratchet lever, and the formation of the handle 25 with the relatively thin Web 2G greatlyY decreases the Weight of the linished Wrench, while the transverse flanges 27 and 2S give increased bearing` or grippingr surface for the hand of the operator.

The handle 25 is preferably provided with a head of greater thickness as at 30 formed with recess 3.1 for receiving' the cover plates 21 and 22 flush With the faces of the head 30. The Width of the head 30 is also preterably increased to provide sutllcient space for ratchet head 12 Without weakening;` the structure of the head 30, but it should be understood that many of the advantages of the invention may be realized Without providing' a body of the specific shape illustrated.

The head 30 is preferably formed with a plurality of transverse bores 33, 3l' for providing' sockets or recesses for receiving` the operative mechanism of the ratchet lever. The bores 32. .33, 34 are located sufficiently close to each other so that they communicate with each other through the apertures 35, 36 so that the parts located in one bore may project into another bore and co-oper ate Wit-h the mechanism located therein. Since the recesses or sockets for the mechanism may be made in the shape of ordinary bores, it v'ill be evident that these sockets may be very readily formed and /or finished by ordinary tools.

The bore 32 is of sufficient size to receive the ratchet member 12. the teeth 141 of which project into the bore 33 for engagement with the paWl 13. The pawl 13 preferably c nsists of a substantially cylindrical metal member having` flat end surfaces 37, 38 and a lateral. cylindrical surface 39. The cylindrical surface 39 is Vsubstantially complementary to the inner cylindrical surface of the bore with suflicient clearance to permit the paivl 13 to be rotatably supported by tbe Walls of bore 33. A

Upon its side, opposite to the ratchet member 12, the pavl 13 is preferably provided with means for seating; a spring' Ll2.r such as. for instance. a pin 41 driven into a socket or bore lO in the pavvl 13. The bore 311 is also preferably slotted at the side opposite pin ell..

forminga socket or seat ..3 for retaining the other end of the spring 42 in definite position. 'lfhe spring` l2 is thus tensioned between the side Vof pawl 13 and the seat L13 when the parts are in the positions of Figure 1 or 3, and this tension is maintained by the engagement of the teeth on the pawl 13 with ythe ratchet member 12.

The pawl 13 has a portion of its side re moved at the point 4st to provide sul'licient clearance between the side 44- of the paul and the teeth lil of theratchet member to permit the operation of the paivl as described herein. At cach end of the side 414 of the pawl, the

` paivl is provided with a tooth Ll5 having sloping sides Alti, 117 substantially complementary to the sloping' sides l5 and 17 of the teeth 14 on the ratchet member 12. The spring' 42 in Figure 1 urges the right-hand. tooth 45 into engagementu'ith tbe teeth 1l aud in Figure 2 the same springl urges the lett-hand tooth l5 Y into engagement Wit rtbe teeth 14.

The thickness or arial length of the cylindrical pavvl 13 is preferably slightly less than the thickness of the head 31 to provide sul'licient clearance between the pawl and cover plates 21 and so thatl the pawl may move freely Without binding, although the cover plates are securely fastened to the head 31. The thickness of the ratchet member 12 between the flat surfaces 13'is also'slightly less than the thickness of the head 31 in order to permit free rotation of the ratchet member as vvell.

The side cover plates 21 and 22 constitute means for rotataoly retaining' the ratchet member and paul within the bores 32, 33 and the plates 21. 22 are provided with apertures or bores 2O adaiited to register With the ratchet member l2 to permit access to the Wrench socket- 15, and also to form bearings for the journals 19 of the ratchet member 12. The cover plates 21. 22 may be secured. to the body 11 by a plurality of rivets 18 passing through the head 30 and plates 21, 22, provided vfith a head or riveted over outside of. each plate. or any convenient form of device for securing' the plates on the body may be employed.

One of the cover plates 21 is preferably provided ivi th an aperture 50 which is axially located With respect to bore 33 and a pin 51 passes through the aperture 50. being' secured in aI bore in the paivl 13.y preferably by a drive fit. The upper end of the pin 51 is laterally bent forming a portion of a crank or an actuating member accessible outside the ratchet lever for actuating; the pawl 1. from the position of Figure 1 to the position of Figure 3 or vice versa. The bent end 53 of thcdpin 51 preferably extends rearwardly to- `wvard the grip of ratchet lever 10 in order to prevent interference between this pin an d the parts to vvhich the ratchet lever is applied.

.ltsliould also be. noted that the size of the loro bore 34 is determined by the relative movement of the pawl 13 and the bore 34 should be of sufficient size to permit either of the teeth 45 to come into engagement with teeth 14 on the ratchet member 12.

The operation of the present ratchet lever is as follows:

It will be observed that each of the teeth 45 is located at one side of the line of centers connecting the aXis of the ratchet member 12 with the aXis oi the pawl 13, and consequently, when the ratchet member is moved in a clockwise direction in Figure 1 the side 16 of the adjacent tooth 14 cams against the side 46 oi' tooth 45 and rotates l the pawl 13 counter-clockwise until one tooth n,

counter-clockwise direction in Figure 1 is ref sisted by the engagement of the side 46 of tooth 45 with the side 17 of the adjacent tooth 14, because such motion tends to draw the teeth 45 into closer engagement with teeth 14 and consequently the pawl 13 permits only a clockwise rotation of the ratchet member 12 when the parts are in the position of.

Figure 1.

' he amount of movement of the pawl 13 during the normal ratchet operation, or the passage of teeth 14 past a pawl tooth 45, is not sucient to carry the pawl 13 over dead center but the pin) 51 may be utilized for moving the pawl 13 from the position of Figure 1 to that of Figure 3 by moving the pin in a counter-clockwise direction in Figure 1. During this movement the spring 42 is compressed until the pin 41 reaches' the line of centers between the seat 43 of thev spring 42 and axis of pawl 13, after which spring 42 tends to urge the pawl 13 in a counter-clockwise direction to the position of Figure 3. The operation of the pawl 13 in permitting counter-clockwise movement only of the ratchet member 12 will be evident from the previous description of clockwise operation.

The parts of the present ratchet lever are peculiarly simple, and they are adapted to be manufactured with a minimum amount of machine operations, although all of the parts may be constructed of the best tool steel, thereby constructing a ratchet lever of higher quality and great-er durability at a minimum cost.

The provision of the body member with round sockets for receiving the ratchet member, pawl and spring also simplifies the manticular attention to the wayin which the ratchet lever is applied, since the lever may be readily adjusted forthe proper rotationat .any time.

While wehave illustrated and describeda specific embodiment of ourinvention, many modifications may be madewithont depart-jV ing. fromthe spirit of. the invention; and we do not wish tobelimited to the. precisel details rsetforth, but desire to avail ourselves of-all challgswithin the` scope ofthe apl.: 'pended claims, en: y v

, '.Having thus described-our inventiomwhat l imy LettersPatent of the United .States is:l l; il

1. In a ratchet lever 'thecombinationl ol ,al mctalbody `having a pluralityof transverseY Vvinter'communicatingv circular bores extending through said body, with a ratchet member having. teeth of ysymmetrical shape, said,r ratchet member-.being locatedl in the iirst andV largestof said bores, a: pawlv comprisingy ,ai n

substantially' cylindrical` metalj member.

formed with flat` ends and adapted to be roe-` tatively received in the second of said: bores,`

said cylindricalmember having aportion cut out of one-foi its sides forming a pair ofteethf. adapted to fit between the teeth ofsaid ratchet.

member, said pawl having 'a'bore extending into a side opposite from said teeth and symmetrically located with respect to said teeth, a pin in said bore, a compression coil spring engaging said pawl directly and located about said pin, said spring having a seat formed in the third of said bores, a pair of plates carried by said body for confining said ratchet and pawl in said body and enclosing said spring, the center of said pawl and center of said ratchet member being in substantial alignment withv each other, whereby either of said teeth may lsnap into operative position, said pawl and one of said plates being provided with aligned apertures and an actuating member comprising a pin passing through the aperture in said plate and driven into said pawl and fiXedly secured therein, the end of said pin being bent over to form a pawl actuating lever.

2. In a ratchet lever, a `body comprising a metal bar having one end formed with flat surfaces on the oppositesides and having the other end formed with a handle, said bar having a pair of transverse bores extending Y y Leesgsae from one flatsurface to the other parallel to eachother and overlapping and communicating With each other, a ratchet member having a plurality of teeth of symmetrical shape, said ratchet member being located in the first and largest of said bores and having a pair of axially extending trunnions, apawl comprising a substantially cylindrical metal member formed with flat ends adapted to be 10. rotatably received in the second of said bores, said cylindrical member having a pair of teeth adapted to it the teeth of said ratchet member, and a pin carried by said pawl and oppositely located with respect to said teeth, said bar having a tapering open-ing `formed with a seat at one end for a spring, a coil spring having one end engaging said seat and the otherseated about said pin, a pair of 7 metal plates carried by said bar engaging said lat surfaces and conining said pawl and ratchet member in 'said bores, said plates having registering bores for receiving the trunnions of said ratchet member, and one plate having a bore coaXially located With the axis of said pawl, a pin having one end secured in said pawl and 'having the other end extending through said latter bore, said pin having a laterally bent end extending subc K stantially longitudinally of said bar, said pin so being arranged with the latter end symmetrically located With respect to the teeth on said paW'l, whereby said pin is adapted to point toward the left or right of the axis of the han- ,i i dle to indicate the engagement of one tooth `or the other of said paWl with said ratchet member.

In Witness whereof, We hereunto subscribe our names this 29th day of June, 1930. NORRIS F. MCNAUGHT. 40 EDVARD H. PETERSON. 

